Seek Justice

Links Securing Justice: Reforming Our Criminal Legal SystemSummary Page2000 Winning Essay by Peter Buttigieg – Bernie SandersPete Buttigieg has been criticized for his handling of policing. He hopes his criminal justice plan will change that.Buttigieg Raised $19.1 Million in Third Quarter, Campaign Says

Links Kamala’s Plan to Transform the Criminal Justice System and Re-envision Public Safety in America [Joe Biden] was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 at the age of 29, becoming the fifth youngest senator in history. – Britannica How Kamala Harris’ death penalty decisions broke hearts on both sidesKamala Harris Touts Her Opposition to the Death Penalty. Her Track Record’s More ComplicatedKamala Harris’s criminal justice reform plan, explainedKamala Harris, Progressive Prosecutor?Kamala Harris Was Not a ‘Progressive Prosecutor’

Links The Biden Plan for Strengthening America’s Commitment to JusticeSAFE Justice ActThe Reverse Incarceration ActDecriminalization Versus Legalization of Marijuana

Links Rethinking Public Safety to Reduce Mass Incarceration and Strengthen Communities The United States makes up 5% of the world’s population, but nearly 20% of the world’s prison population. We have the highest rate of incarceration in the world, with over 2 million people in prison and jail. Our system is the result of the dozens of choices we’ve made — choices that together stack the deck against the poor and the disadvantaged. Simply put, we have criminalized too many things. We send too many people to jail. We keep them there for too long. We do little to rehabilitate them. We spend billions, propping up an entire industry that profits from mass incarceration. And we do all of this despite little evidence that our harshly punitive system makes our communities safer — and knowing that a majority of people currently in prison will eventually return to our communities and our neighborhoods. The federal government oversees just 12% of the incarcerated population (PDF)

Links Rethinking Public Safety to Reduce Mass Incarceration and Strengthen Communities The United States makes up 5% of the world’s population, but nearly 20% of the world’s prison population. We have the highest rate of incarceration in the world, with over 2 million people in prison and jail. Our system is the result of the dozens of choices we’ve made — choices that together stack the deck against the poor and the disadvantaged. Simply put, we have criminalized too many things. We send too many people to jail. We keep them there for too long. We do little to rehabilitate them. We spend billions, propping up an entire industry that profits from mass incarceration. And we do all of this despite little evidence that our harshly punitive system makes our communities safer — and knowing that a majority of people currently in prison will eventually return to our communities and our neighborhoods. Debtors’ Prisons, Then and Now: FAQDispelling Myths About Poverty Preventing a mother from visiting her sons in prison because she cannot afford to pay parking tickets is wealth-based discrimination. Forcing someone to leave town because their mobile home is not worth enough is wealth-based discrimination. Keeping someone in jail prior to trial simply because they cannot afford bail — while those who can afford bail go free — is wealth-based discrimination. In all of these examples (and many more), people are penalized just for a lack of financial means. A Fair and Welcoming Immigration SystemSome brain wiring continues to develop well into our 20sMinimum Age for Delinquency Adjudication—Multi-Jurisdiction Survey While every state (and territory) sets a maximum age of juvenile court jurisdiction (in most states it is 18), in about two thirds of the states (and territories), there is no statute that specifies a minimum age under which a child cannot be adjudicated delinquent. In those states without a statutory minimum, there is nothing legally preventing the state from prosecuting even the youngest of children. This runs contrary to all of the scientific research and emerging case law that recognizes children are inherently less culpable than adults and that the younger a person, the less competent he or she may be.

Links Bernie Sanders – Justice and Safety For All For most of our history as a country, the United States incarcerated people at about the same rates as other western democracies do today. In the early 1970s we had the same low crime rate as today, but we now have an incarceration rate five times higher. Indeed, America is now the world’s leading jailer. We lock up more than 2 million people in America, which is more of our own people than any country on Earth. And that does not include another 5 million people who are under the supervision of the correctional system. Hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people in America have not been convicted of a crime and are solely in jail because they can’t afford their bail. We are criminalizing poverty. Second Chance Act (2007)14-year-old to be tried as an adult in killing of 16-year-old14-year-old charged as an adult for the rape and murder of an 83-year-old womanCruel and Unusual Punishment: Confining Juveniles with Adults After Graham and Miller Thousands of juveniles are currently confined with adults in detention and correctional facilities throughout the United States. Juveniles confined in adult facilities face grave dangers to their safety and well-being, including significantly higher rates of physical assault, sexual abuse, and suicide than their counterparts in juvenile facilities. These dangers and other conditions of juvenile confinement with adults give rise to concerns of constitutional dimension. In its Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, the United States Supreme Court has created categorical rules prohibiting the imposition of certain punishments on entire categories of offenders as cruel and unusual punishment. The Court’s 2010 decision in Graham v. Florida, in which it held that a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole violates the Eighth Amendment when applied to juveniles convicted of nonhomicide offenses, and its 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama, in which it held that mandatory life-without-parole sentencing schemes violate the Eighth Amendment when applied to juveniles, open the door to challenge the constitutionality of the confinement of juveniles with adults. Supreme Court restricts life without parole for juveniles Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Juveniles may not be sentenced to life in prison without parole for any crime short of homicide, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday, expanding its command that young offenders must be treated differently from adults even for heinous crimes. The court ruled 5 to 4 that denying juveniles who have not committed homicide a chance to ever rejoin society is counter to national and “global” consensus and violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The decision follows the court’s 2005 decision that, no matter what crime they commit, juveniles may not be executed. It also reinforced the court’s view that the Eighth Amendment’s protections against harsh punishment must be interpreted in light of the country’s “evolving standards of decency.” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said states must provide juveniles who receive lengthy sentences a “meaningful” chance at some point to show they should be released. Minimum Age for Delinquency Adjudication—Multi-Jurisdiction Survey While every state (and territory) sets a maximum age of juvenile court jurisdiction (in most states it is 18), in about two thirds of the states (and territories), there is no statute that specifies a minimum age under which a child cannot be adjudicated delinquent. In those states without a statutory minimum, there is nothing legally preventing the state from prosecuting even the youngest of children. This runs contrary to all of the scientific research and emerging case law that recognizes children are inherently less culpable than adults and that the younger a person, the less competent he or she may be. Florida passed Amendment 4. That could be good news for Democrats A study published in...

Links Bernie Sanders – Justice and Safety For All For most of our history as a country, the United States incarcerated people at about the same rates as other western democracies do today. In the early 1970s we had the same low crime rate as today, but we now have an incarceration rate five times higher. Indeed, America is now the world’s leading jailer. We lock up more than 2 million people in America, which is more of our own people than any country on Earth. And that does not include another 5 million people who are under the supervision of the correctional system. Hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people in America have not been convicted of a crime and are solely in jail because they can’t afford their bail. We are criminalizing poverty. Sanders’s Criminal-Justice Plan Is Wrong in So Many Ways It’s based on the false premise that the justice system is draconian and racially oppressive, and it ignores that most prisoners are in state, not federal, prisons. Ferguson, MO and Police Militarization: Last Week Tonight with John OliverCivil Forfeiture: Last Week Tonight with John OliverIndiana Risk Assessment System Assessments are utilized to determine specific criminal risk factors and needs. They may be used by courts, probation, community corrections, institutional facilities, and can be used to assist with determining pre-trial release, sentencing, supervision intensity, and treatment needed (i.e. cognitive behavioral, mental health, and substance abuse.)

Links Jeffrey EpsteinEp. 15 - The Meaning of Life, with Marc MauerJournalists should examine the leading cause of jail deaths, in light of Jeffrey EpsteinThe Daily Show with Trevor Noah clipLast Week Tonight with John Oliver clipMortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000–2013 - Statistical Tables (PDF) Suicide has been the leading cause of death in jails every year since 2000. In 2013, a third (34%) of jail inmate deaths were due to suicide. The suicide rate increased 14%, from 40 suicides per 100,000 jail inmates in 2012 to 46 per 100,000 in 2013. AP Investigation: Many US jails fail to stop inmate suicides Suicide, long the leading cause of death in U.S. jails, hit a high of 50 deaths for every 100,000 inmates in 2014, the latest year for which the government has released data. That’s 2½ times the rate of suicides in state prisons and about 3½ times that of the general population. Metropolitan Correctional CenterNational Study of Jail Suicide: 20 Years Later (PDF) Following are some findings regarding characteristics of the suicide victims:• Sixty-seven percent were white. Preventing Suicide in Jails and Prisons (PDF) Suicide is often the single most common cause of death in correctional settings. Jails, prisons and penitentiaries are responsible for protecting the health and safety of their inmate populations, and the failure to do so, can be open to legal challenge. Further fuelled by media interest, a suicide in correctional facility can easily escalate into a political scandal. Moreover, suicidal behaviour by custodial inmates means a stressful event for officers and other prisoners faced with it. Therefore, the provision of adequate suicide prevention and intervention services is both beneficial to the prisoners in custody, as well as to the institution in which the services are offered. It is within this context that correctional settings worldwide struggle with the problem of preventing inmate suicide. Alaska Gov. Bill Walker introduces Walt Monegan

Follow Roger Przybylski’s work at: RKC GroupImplementing Evidence-Based PracticesWhat Works - Effective Recidivism Reduction and Risk-Focused Prevention ProgramsSpecial Issue on Evidence-Based Policy and Practice – Introduction Links National Criminal Justice Reform ProjectNational Governors AssociationFormative EvalutationSummative EvaluationTypes of summative assessment and formative assessment “When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative [evaluation]. When the guests taste the soup, that’s summative [evaluation].” – Robert E. Stake, Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Illinois

Follow Marc Mauer’s work at: The Sentencing ProjectEnd Life ImprisonmentThe Meaning of Life: The Case for Abolishing Life Sentences Links Sentator Gerald MalloyCharles “Joe” HeinzVera Institute of JusticeRacial Impact Statements: Changing Policies to Address Disparities In reaction to a study that found Iowa topped the nation in racial disparity in its prison population, Iowa Governor Chet Culver in April 2008 made history by signing into law the nation’s first piece of legislation to require policy makers to prepare racial impact statements for proposed legislation that affects sentencing, probation, or parole policies. In signing the bill, Gov. Culver noted that “I am committed to making sure government at all levels reflects our shared values of fairness and justice.” In the following months Connecticut and Wisconsin took similar action. James BellReducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System: A Manual for Practitioners and PolicymakersLife Without Redemption “One in every seven prisoners is serving some type of life sentence.” – Marc Mauer Louisiana Amendment 2, Unanimous Jury Verdict for Felony Trials Amendment (2018) 938,182 Louisiana Court Declares State’s Non-unanimous Jury Verdict Scheme Unconstitutional, Motivated by Racial DiscriminationThe AngoliteCory Booker aims to give aging prisoners ‘a second look’Hillary Clinton Calls for an End to ‘Mass Incarceration’ACLU - Smart JusticeJust Leadership USADrop LWOP

Links Decarceration Strategies – How 5 States Achieved Substantial Prison Population Reductions (PDF, The Sentencing Project) Connecticut: Declined 25%, 2007-2016 Michigan: Declined 20%, 2006-2016 Mississippi: Declined 17.5%, 2008-2016 Rhode Island: Declined 23%, 2008-2016 South Carolina: Declined 14%, 2008-2016 Gina Raimondo (Wikipedia) Racial Disparity Map (The Sentencing Project) Rhode Island exceeds the national disparity index (8 to 1, Blacks to Whites incarcerated in Rhode Island versus 5 to 1 nationally) A Review of the Jail Function Within State Unified Corrections Systems (PDF, National Institute of Corrections) Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System: A Manual for Practitioners and Policymakers, by Dennis Schrantz and Jerry McElroy (The Sentencing Project) Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo’s Jobs Video (YouTube, 2016) The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander (Amazon) Cornel West (Wikipedia) 13th (Netflix Documentary) The New Jim Crow Study Guide and Call to Action (Amazon) “Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “A Proper Sense of Priorities”, February 6, 1968 Georgia Governor Nathan DealWhy Your Brain Wants To Help One Child In Need — But Not MillionsWe Followed Obama During His Visit To A Federal Prison | HBO Special Report

Links Economic Impact of Sentencing Reform Act Initiatives on the Economy, David Hughes, Ph.D, Clemson University, Clemson Institute for Economic and Community Development, 2.28.14 Based on a 2011 report conducted by the United States (U.S.) Government Accountability Office, and on data taken from a factsheet produced by the Children’s Defense Fund for South Carolina (2011), we estimated that 25 children are not in foster care and three children were not adopted out of foster care because of SRA initiatives. When we examine impacts of SRA initiatives implemented by the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services for the three year period, the cumulative impact on the South Carolina economy is $50.896 million. Sandhill Research and Education CenterEp. 10 - Trust the MethodologySenator Gerald MalloyKwame KilpatrickEp. 8 - Unemployment, Before and After PrisonIncarceration and Race in Michigan: Grounding the National Debate in State Practice

Links Criminal Defense LawyerJudges are more lenient after taking a break, study findsFailure to AppearEconomic Impact of Sentencing Reform Act Initiatives on the Economy, David Hughes, Ph.D, Clemson University, Clemson Institute for Economic and Community Development, 2.28.14Victim offender reconciliation‘Close to a breaking point’: Public defenders walk off job over high caseloadsLaw school was insanely expensive. I have colleagues who came out of law school with a quarter-million dollars in educational debt. Every year that I’ve been a public defender, I have taken on more cases than I had the year before. … I had 531 new cases last year, which is 131 more than the ABA recommends.

Links Michigan spending one-fifth of its general fund budget on prisoners It cost the state — and by extension, taxpayers — an average of $36,106 to incarcerate a single person in Michigan in 2017. You can buy a new Ford Explorer for that, according to Kelley Blue Book. At that rate, a single prisoner sentenced to 30 or more years would cost Michigan taxpayers more than $1 million to incarcerate. Budget Briefing: Corrections (pdf) FY 2018-19 MDOC Budget $2,019,056,200 – Total spending authority from all revenue sources “Fix the damn roads” - Gretchen WhitmerThe Second Chance Act of 2007

Links Ep. 5 – How do we know what works?Jennifer Doleac’s thread on Twitter Working on criminal justice topics gives me a very different perspective on the Kochs than my equally-liberal friends & family have. Charles Koch Foundation & Charles Kock Institute are perhaps the most important funders of research related to criminal justice policy & reform. They also frequently host conferences that bring top-notch researchers and practitioners together in one room — a chance to meet everyone else who’s working in this space. In other words, they throw great parties — sounds trivial but this is super important & helpful! Charles Koch Foundation has funded my own work related to prisoner reentry and I am deeply grateful for that as well as their broader support of my research. My contacts there & Charles Kock Institute are the first I call if I’m looking for practioner contacts. They know everyone! As funders they are extremely hands-off — to a degree that is almost funny. I think they know people are watching them closely for missteps so are super careful. But most funders in this space have strong opinions abt what you should study & what you should find. They don’t. Koch Industries for a long time was a major proponent of Ban the Box policies. When my research on BTB (which they did not fund) came out, showing detrimental effects, they were eager to hear about it & engage w the results. I really appreciated that. To my fellow liberals that love to hate the Koch brothers, I simply say: the story is more complicated (as always, right?). Charles Koch in particular is enabling & supporting evidence-based CJ reform in red & blue states alike, and that is something we should all appreciate. “Ban the Box” does more harm than goodArnold FoundationLaura Arnold’s PodcastThe Replication CrisisThe File Drawer ProblemAcademic Tenure Example of Correlation-Causation Escalation Periodontal Disease Bacteria Linked To Alzheimer’s Disease The study, published in the journal Science Advances, uncovered a potential link between P. gingivalis, the bacteria associated with periodontal disease (commonly known as gum disease) and Alzheimer’s. Porphyromonas gingivalis in Alzheimer’s disease brains: Evidence for disease causation and treatment with small-molecule inhibitors Infectious agents have been found in the brain and postulated to be involved with AD, but robust evidence of causation has not been established.

Links Broken promises and lost funding: how Mississippi prison reform failed Between 1993 and 2013, Mississippi’s prison population more than quadrupled, thanks largely to mandatory minimum sentences, with the population peaking in the past decade at more than 23,000. The state had a higher per capita rate of incarceration than countries such as China or Russia. By the time the bill became law in July 2014, the Mississippi Parole Board was paroling more offenders and had already reduced the prison population by about 2,000 inmates. Within six months, it fell even more, to below 19,000. Miss. locks up more per capita than China and RussiaPew predicted that by 2024 Mississippi would save $266 millionEp 4 – Racial DisparityNorthpointe’s COMPASOhio Risk Assessment SystemLevel of Service Inventory - RevisedBuild vs. BuyMississippi Center for Investigative ReportingJudge Keith StarrettMiss. prison chief accused of bribery, money laundering Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps was indicted Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, on charges of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud. Epps resigned from his post Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014. The Pew Charitable TrustsCenter for Effective Public PolicyDownscaling Prisons – Lessons From Four StatesBrad BoguePew Charitable Trusts – Washington, D.C. Headquarters

Links Unemployment benefits in DenmarkSoft SkillsCenter for Employment Opportunities, in New York CityNew Orleans Business AllianceUnited Way Prosperity Center, South Eastern LouisianaWork and opportunity before and after incarceration Bureau of Justice AssistanceAnnie E. Casey FoundationIntegrated Reentry and Employment Strategies – Reducing Recidivism and Promoting Job Readiness

Links Judith Greene, Director of Justice StrategiesBailing Out Private JailsMichael Jordan has NOT invested in prisonsMarc MauerAnkle Monitor

Links DOJ: Alabama prisoners exposed to horrifying violence, rape; murders a ‘regular’ occurrenceCruel and Unusual PunishmentInmates at Kentucky prison build teddy bears to give back to childrenThirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Give Working Prisoners Dignity — and Decent WagesAngola Prison – Louisiana State PenetentiaryLansing Prison Visit, Part 1 There is also an embroidery shop which makes all the hats for the NCAA, the NFL, major league baseball teams and companies such as Gear and Sprint. In addition there are several other smaller shops that make goods of various kinds, all with inmate labor. It is quite fascinating and keeping these men busy I believe is the reason this area seems so tranquil. There are several private companies that work inside the walls and supply “civilian” crew bosses who teach the inmates how to operate the machinery and provide them with a trade if they don’t have one. At any given time there are 500-600 men working in the industrial division on three 8-hour shifts — 24 hours a day if needed. They are paid minimum prevailing wage to start and 25 percent goes back to the penitentiary for room and board. Ten percent is put into mandatory savings, a small amount is paid into each inmates commissary account and the balance is paid into a victims’ restitution fund. Prison Labor Stats $5.15$0.13$0$0.93$4.73$0.16 NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard (Wikipedia) You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear (The Free Dictionary) Propensity Score Matching (Wikipedia) United Way Prosperity Center, South Eastern Louisiana (United Way)

Links EconTalk – Jennifer Doleac on CrimeJennifer DoleacRandomized Controlled TrialBan the BoxUnintended Consequences: How “Ban the Box” Backfires for Minority Job SeekersPropensity Score MatchingUnited Way Prosperity Center, South Eastern Louisiana